Sneaky Scammers
Always remember to be careful with your items while on any online game. Unfortunately, in any game, when there is trading or gifting items, there is also scamming. Here are a few good examples of what someone might say to you to get your items: "I'm poor, please give me items!" From my understanding, animals on a virtual game cannot be poor. This is a great example of what a scammer could possibly say to get sympathy from you so you'll send them something. Do not send this person anything. Also, if you were poor, would you honestly ask people on a game for items that aren't even real? "______ is famous, send him/her items!" This is one of the least common phrases that I've seen, and it is also one of the most misleading. If a Jammer is saying that someone else is famous and to send him or her items, it may be a lie to get your items. If you have never heard of whoever they're saying is famous, it's probably because that Jammer isn't famous. "My ______ got scammed, send me it back." It is true that scamming isn't rare on Animal Jam, but if someone says this, I highly doubt that it's true. Even when you know the person, it still probably isn't true. I've seen people act out like they were being scammed to make it more believable. Plus, just because someone might've gotten scammed doesn't mean that you should have to send them what they "lost". "My friend works at AJHQ. If you don' give me your ______, then I'm going to tell them and you'll get banned." I can assure you that this is a complete lie every time. AJHQ won't ban you unless you violate one of the rules of their game. Once again, I am one hundred percent sure it's a scam. Don't send any of your items to a Jammer who says this. "Gift me funny items to make me look silly!" Actually, this isn't much of a scam. I have seen people say this to get free items to recycle for gems, though. If you really want to send the person an item, make sure the item isn't a good rare first. "Trade me, I decline every time." The fact that someone would say that they decline every time is suspicious. This clearly isn't safe, and I learned that the hard way. A couple years back, I knew this person who came to my den every other day to record me and him do this kind of trade. The first few days, he declined every one of my trades. I thought for sure I could trust him. Then, I decided he was trustworthy enough for me to trade all of my best items. I traded my best items, and he accepted. All of that hard work was gone in the blink of an eye. "Gift me good items and I'll give you a membership code/member account!" The only way to get a membership code on Animal Jam is to pay for it, there is no free way to get membership. Do not give your items to this person. "Today is my birthday, gift me presents." Okay, this one may be the most used phrase to try to get some good free rares from people. I don't really consider this scamming, but it could most definitely be considered a lie. Luckily, barely anyone falls for it. On some occasions, this may actually be true, but think about it. When it's your birthday, why would you be on Animal Jam when you could be celebrating with your family and friends? Don't get me wrong, though. If a close friend says that it's his or her birthday, then it might be true. "Flash trade me!" This scam isn't safe, no matter how fast you think you can click to cancel the trade. More often than not, the person saying this will be faster than you, even if you have a fast computer. You shouldn't trust even your closest friends to flash trade. This is a good way to lose a lot of rare items very quickly! "Whoever sends me the best item will win a _____." It's kind of obvious that if someone says this, they are lying. What would "the best item" even be? You can't know for sure if you send a good item that you'll get something else rare in return. It's best not to get involved. Always be safe, and stay away from scammers! ~MelliBoo